Shane Long believes Adam Idah is trapped in a classic “catch-22” at Celtic — and says Daizen Maeda’s red-hot form is a key reason the Irish striker has yet to make the No.9 role his own.
Idah was widely tipped to step up as Celtic’s first-choice frontman following Kyogo Furuhashi’s January exit to Rennes. But despite arriving permanently from Norwich City in a £9.5million deal last summer, the 24-year-old has yet to fully convince Brendan Rodgers that he’s the long-term solution through the middle.
Speaking to BoyleSports, Long offered a frank assessment of his fellow countryman’s situation.
“Adam Idah has done okay at Celtic, he’s got 23 goals in 65 appearances,” Long stated. “I think the biggest problem for him is Daizen Maeda. He's flying at the moment and it's strong competition.
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“When he does start games, he doesn't light it up as much as he probably should to really cause the manager a few issues, headaches about picking the starting team. It's when he comes in off the bench that he's really effective so it's a nice weapon for the manager to have."
Idah was given the nod from the start as Celtic thrashed St Johnstone 5-0 at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final last Sunday, marking the occasion with a goal shortly before half-time. But his afternoon came to an end just after the hour mark as Rodgers shuffled the pack — with Jota replacing him and Maeda, who had started wide on the left, shifting into the central role.
Long, who knows Idah well from their time together on international duty, understands the challenge. He compared Idah’s situation to the “super sub” tag he himself carried at stages in his career — a valuable weapon for the team, but a difficult label for any striker hoping to cement a regular starting place.
“You’re kind of in a catch-22 where you want to come off the bench and do well, but you don’t want to fall into that thing of always coming off the bench to do well,” Long added.
“He’s still quite young, I’ve played with him and I know his ability. He’s strong, he’s a link-up player and he’s a good finisher, so it will happen for him. He just needs to keep believing.”
